Brian James's Blog, page 27

Weekend Music Roundup!

The weekend is here, ending a brutally cold polar week where temps sank far below 0º. As we begin to thaw out, there is no better way to unfreeze than by listening to music. This week I'm rambling on about some recent listens that range from singer songwriter indie rock to stoner metal and jazz. It also features my first 2019 release, and what a great one it is. Hopefully you all will find something on here that's worth checking out. Enjoy.

Ryley Walker - The Lilywhite Sessions: This was a big shock to see in the store the other week. Ryley has been one of my favorite artists of the last several years and I wasn't aware of this before seeing it. He's taken a shelved Dave Matthew's Band album from 2000 and rearranged and reworked it into a masterpiece. Apparently this was shelved by DMB because the label thought it was too dark, which might have served them well. By taking out the horns and replacing it with his signature experimental guitar sound, he gives the music a grounding that I find DMB lacks most times. Truly a joy and a very unexpected surprise. 

Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow: The sixth album from the Brooklyn based songwriter is her first in five years and easily a landmark release for her career. Her last album was very solid, but this one feels like a breakthrough as she finds the perfect outlet for her moody vocals. She's established herself as the heir to the legacy of female artist of the 21st Century along with artists like Aimee Mann, Cat Power, and Beth Orton. Some of my favorites are "You Shadow," "Seventeen," "I Told You Everything," and the lead single "Comeback Kid." 
Dead Quiet - Dead Quiet: Released in 2015, this is the debut album from the Canadian stoner metal band. They have since released a second album back in 2017, but this is the first I've encountered them.This is very sludgy and quite impressive. The first half starts out slow, but then it picks up the pace and gets really good. "Home is Where You Go to Die," "The Fall of Me," and "Let it Die" are the three last tracks and the three best.
Brant Bjork - Mankind Woman: This is the 12th solo album from the founding member of Kyuss. Though that pioneering stoner rock band disbanded in the mid-90s, the music on this record doesn't stray too far from the blues based rock that they played. There's no doubt that Brant is a talented and capable musician and his playing on this record is thoroughly enjoyable. But, like Kyuss, it failed to really grab me. I was never able to connect personally with their music, and found myself failing to connect to this either. There's some quality psychedelic rock songs on the record, most notably "Swagger and Sway" and the title track.
Count Basie - Count Basie: I recently picked this up from the discount bin. I love the way the Count, a NJ born big band piano king, is able to swing the tempo of a tune like "I'm Shoutin' Again" with touching just one key on the piano, and then create the entire chaos of a track like "Lil' Ol' Groovemaker." As with any archive series, this spans a good section of his career, but focus mainly on his Big Band era. Some greats are "Watermelon Man," "April in Paris," and cover of "Yesterday" which yet again shows the reach of The Beatles and the acceptance of jazz. One of the things I love about jazz is how all inclusive it is. Unlike other genres, where you can say "That's not rock. That's not hip-hop....", well baby, everything can be jazz.  
The Struts - Young and Dangerous: Four years ago, this UK glam rock band exploded onto the scene and now, four years later, they return with their second record. Personally, I found the debut to slightly better than average, so my expectations weren't very high. I'm happy to say, they show improvement, rather than the cliche failed second album, which they were totally set up for. I give them credit for overcoming that trap, which couldn't have been easy with a four year gap. If I were a Queen fan, I'm guessing I'd love this album. Since I'm not, I find it a bit over-dramatic at times, and  quite enjoyable at others. It's pretty clear this band is destined for big things, they have the swagger, riffs, and presence to be rock stars. 

Fiction Friday (75)

Around Christmas time, I bought myself a present in the form of a book that I was super excited about. I have devoured all of Ransom Riggs' Peculiar Children novels and couldn't wait to read the newest installment, especially considering that I'd assumed the last one to be the final installment. As soon as I finished the book I'd been reading before, I jumped right into this and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
A Map of Days (Miss Pergrine's Peculiar Children Book 4)
by Ransom Riggs
(Dutton, 2018)

At the end of the last book, the saga in Devil's Acre may have ended, but as this novel reveals, Jacob Portman's journey into the depths of the peculiar universe are just beginning. This is clearly the beginning of a new story, the start of a new trilogy (presumably). In that regard, this feels very similar in pace and scope as the very first book. It's also a new beginning in many ways, relying very little on the events of the past three books to establish and build the story.
As the story opens, Jacob finds himself back in Florida with his family of normals who are completely convinced he's somewhat insane. Luckily, his has another family, one that knows all about being peculiar. Arriving seemingly out of nowhere, Miss Peregrine and his friends arrive at his home. It turns out, a lot has happened in Acre in the short time Jacob has been gone. The result of what happened in the Library of Souls has enabled the children who were there to move freely from loop to the loop in the present without aging forward.
The book gets off to a bit of a slow start as far as the action is concerned. It's only a third of the way through that Jacob, Emma, and the rest the crew discover Jacob's grandfather's best kept secrets and decide to disobey the council of ymbrynes and strike out on their own in the peculiar wilds of America.   They quickly learn that American loops operate dramatically differently than the ones they are used to. The threat from the dangers they are used to may be gone, this new landscape is populated with many other dangers that threaten them at every turn.
While this book reads like a simple action/adventure story for most of the story, by the last third, it explodes into a vastness of story that will certainly fill many, many books and leaves the reader dying for more. 
My one criticism is the very dry way in which Jacob and Emma's relationship is related. Romance is certainly not the author's strong point, but thankfully it's not a large part of the story. 

Series of Unfortuante Events (Carnivorous Carnival)

The ninth book in Lemony Snickett's children's book series makes up the plot of the two second season finale of the Netflix adaptation. After fleeing the fire that consumed the Heimlich hospital in the previous episode in the trunk of Count Olaf's car, the Baudelaire orphans find themselves transported to a dying carnival deep in the Hinterlands where Count Olaf hopes to find answers to the question of a surviving Baudelaire parent raised in the last episode.
The carnival is populated by three "freaks" and a familiar fortune teller. In this episode, the good guys borrow a trick from Olaf by disguising themselves and pretending to be who they are not. This includes the orphans who pretend to be freaks in order to stay at the carnival and learn the secrets the fortune teller shares with Count Olaf.  (My personal favorite is Sunny as a feral half-wolf child).
Seemingly one step ahead of Count Olaf this time around, everything appears to be on course for a breakthrough that will end the series of unfortunate events...but alas, that is not to be. When a pack of starving lions are recruited for the show, things take a deadly turn that ends with another V.F.D. volunteer's demise, once again leaving the orphans without a friend to help them. It also ends with another fire setting the carnival ablaze as the motif of starting fires and putting fires out (both literally and figuratively) continues to weave through this epically miserable tale that ends with a cliffhanger...literally and figuratively.

Series of Unfortunate Events (Hostile Hospital)

After a brief break to avert my eyes from the tragedy of the Baudelaire orphans, I returned to watching the Netflix adaptation for the eighth book in the series. This is perhaps the bleakest setting in the series, a grimy hospital of horrors. After escaping the V.F.D. village in the fire truck, the orphans end up at Heimlich hospital in the middle of the Hinterlands.
Now I've always been of the persuasion that hospitals are terrifying places. This is probably why so many horror movies take place in them. Aware of this fact, the show does a great job of playing with this troupe. There are many references to famous horror films in this story and they are done wonderfully.
The orphans find themselves trapped in the hospital once again with the Count and his band of evil actors. Their one hope is that the hospital's Library will hold the answers to secrets that seem to surround them...and it does. Only, as is always their luck, they are never able to discover the whole truth, but do gain yet more pieces in the mystery that has become their lives. 
The dramatic concluding scene in the Operating Theater of this episode is probably the best scene of the show to date. It is truly a horrible and hostile predicament that the Baudelaire siblings find themselves in, seemingly with no way out. Yet their resourcefulness shines through once again, helping them long enough to continue on to the next terrible series of unfortunate events.

Weekend Music Roundup!

It's the weekend which can only mean it's time for ramblings about music, because honestly, what else is a weekend for. This week I take a look at some releases from last year that I just got around to hearing, as well as some recent old time finds. There's a wide range of music on here, from psychedelic rock, to hip hop, jazz, folk and indie pop. There's something here for everyone, so hopefully you'll find something new to listen to. Enjoy.
Pink Fairies - Never Never Land: This 1971 debut from the psychedelic rock band is an album that has eluded me for twenty five years. It was never available on CD in the early 90s when I first tried to track it down and I hadn't come across it on vinyl in the wild before recently. Of course, I snatched it up. This is one of the first heavy psych albums. The band, led by Twink, were contemporaries of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind and were cut from the same mold. It opens with the iconic proto-punk "Do It" and leads into the Floydian "Heavenly Man" and right away you know you're hearing something special. Other standout tracks on this masterpiece are "Thor" and the epic "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout." 
Wizard Must Die - In the Land of the Dead Turtles: The debut album from the French stoner rock band has an Alice in Chains meets Helmet mixed with noise rock feel that I really dig.  There isn't a ton of range in this genre, so when I hear something that sounds refreshing, I take notice. This is one of those albums. "From the Blood to the Sea," "Umibe no Kafuka," and "Odyssey" are standouts. Definitely worth checking out and a band worth watching.
The Essex Green - Hardly Electronic: The Elephant Six band released three great albums in the late '90s and early '00s before morphing into The Sixth Great Lake. They went quite about 15 years ago, until this album appeared over the summer, without me even knowing. I came across it in the store and was shocked. Like their earliest albums, this is an indie pop record with 60's psych garage influences. They've always been a bit of an American Belle and Sebastian and this record is no different. "Don't Leave It In Our Hands," "Sloane Ranger," "Modern Rain," and "Bristol Sky" are personal favorites of mine. 
Erroll Garner - Afternoon of an Elf: This 1955 album is one of the classic swing / bop jazz records that is not quite as well known as some of the bigger figures of jazz, but no less fantastic. These are all solos, but at times is sounds like a whole orchestra. More amazing, these sessions were recorded while he had the index finger of his left hand in a splint...so yeah, nine finger jazz piano. Legendary stuff. "Don't Be That Way," "St. James Infirmary," and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" are my personal favorites.

MIKE - War in my Pen: Released late in December, this is the newest mixtape release from Bronx native. Over the past few years, he's been making a lot of noise and getting some attention, so I figured it was about time to check out his work. He has the kind of lethargic flow that has been gaining popularity recently, but what really makes this standout is the amazing beats. They bring the tempo up, masking his words with an eerie allure. Very worthwhile.


Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou - Fair Lady London: Originally recording under the name Indigo Moss, this duo was on the forefront of the British folk revival last decade. With the fourth album under their names, they continue to draw on traditional British folk to create beautiful music. One of the problems most folk artists have is the difficulty in sounding at all different from what they (or others) have previously done, and they are no different. "When Spring Calls," "Minds on the Run," and "Johnny the Lightning" are standouts. 

Series of Unfortunate Events (The Vile Village)

I've now completed watching the adaptation of the sixth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, "The Vile Village." As this episode begins, the Baudelairs are being taken to the town of V.F.D. and assume that they will get all the answers they seek about the secret organization of the same initials. Against all better judgement, they are hopeful that this will be a good place and that the town's slogan of "It Takes a Village" will mean they are entering a place where kind people will care for them. Of course, they're wrong.
The village is truly vile, run by a council of elders who see the children as free labor to do all the town's chores. And feeling momentum on his side, Count Olaf wastes no time in arriving at this new local. He and Esme literally followed them into town and unleashed their new plan immediately. 
Violet and Klaus know that means their friends, the Quagmires are nearby and set in motion a plan to locate and rescue them. All seems to be going well when Jacque Snickett shows up and quickly arrests Olaf. But as we've learned over the course of a season and a half, the Count isn't as clueless as he once seemed. He's actually a very capable foe whose plans are coming closer and closer to dooming the orphans.
Thankfully, the children are smart and capable as well. They manage to save their friends, but are unable to flee with them. The episode closes with them running away once again. Let's hope it works out better than the last time...though, I surely doubt it.

Series of Unfortuante Events (The Ersatz Elevator)

The most recent episode in my binge watching covers the sixth book in the children's literature series, The Ersatz Elevator. Just as the Wide Window did in the first season, this second installment of the second season brings some light to the darkness of the previous episode. Not exactly joy, or hope, but lightness. It seems appropriate to mention the word play of the phrase "red herring" that runs throughout this story because it functions as one, giving the viewer optimism throughout. Optimism that they will save their friends, that they have found an adult who finally isn't clueless, and that they will be saved from Count Olaf's clutches. Of course, none of that happens.
This episode takes us to a new world of sorts, that of the upper class city folk. The sets are elaborate, stylish, and as always, mesmerizing. As a result, the characters in this one are a different breed and extremely interesting. Gunther is perhaps my favorite Count Olaf disguise and Neil Patrick Harris pulls it off brilliantly.
The children have fully embraced their heritage by now and are basically operating as rouge agents of the V.F.D. to defeat Count Olaf. They've seen enough of his schemes to figure out his plan, but they are still learning of the vast extent of this conspiracy. The shocking twist that takes place in the middle of the second part of this episode is amazing.

Series of Unfortunate Evens (The Austere Academy)

Despite all warnings to the contrary, I continue to subject myself to the misery of the Baudelaire orphans. The second season of the Netflix series picks up with Book 5, The Austere Academy. After the running away to the Mill, Mr. Poe decides that it is best for the orphans to go to a boarding school, the dreary and depressing Prufrock Preparatory School. As it turns out, this horrible place is the alma mater of several characters in the show, including Count Olaf.

No surprise, the school is run by yet another incompetent adult, Vice Principal Nero. He is more concerned with his violin skills, or lack thereof, than in the well-being of the students. Besides the first episode, this is possibly the worst and most abusive situation the orphans have encountered, because, like Count Olaf in that episode, the other characters take such glee in their misery and to subjecting them to more. 
The only bright side for the twins in this episode is the friendship they strike up with the Quagmire triplets (though only two have survived a mysterious fire). It turns out, their parents were part of the same secret organization as the Baudelaires. Finally, they have partners to help them them...though, it doesn't last long as they are kidnapped once Count Olaf is exposed.
This was a natural start to a second season as it answers some questions, while raising so many new ones.

Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here and it's bringing Snowmageddon in a few hours. That's a perfect time to hunker down and keep the turntable spinning. This week I'm taking a look at some recent pick-ups, some old and some from last year that I didn't get around to listening to before the end of December. There's a range of rock, metal, and folk on here. Hopefully you have some time to sit back and enjoy.

J Mascis - Elastic Days: The new album from the Dinosaur Jr. frontman is his first solo album in four years and was released late last year. One thing that can be said about Mascis is that he's consistent. Whether it's the Dinosaur Jr. albums of the last decade or his solo work, he's tapped into his psyche and developed a sound that allows for the expression. If there's a downfall to this, it's that there isn't much difference between albums and few surprises, but when every able is consistently good, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

Mick Ronson - Slaughter on 10th Avenue: The debut solo record from the Rolling Stones, Spiders from Mars, and legendary glam rock guitarist was released in '74. I'd been looking for a copy of this record for a while and found a beautiful "test pressing" in the local shop and couldn't resist. It's the first test pressing that I've ever added to my collection. This is a fantastic Bowie-esque record with some classic glam tracks that places it in the category with Ziggy and All the Young Dudes.  
Ryley Walker - The West Wind: This EP was released in 2013 as a limited edition vinyl and I recently came across a copy in the store. Being as Ryley is one of my favorite new songwriters of the decade, I was super excited to give this a listen. The three songs on here are classic Ryley style dark folk that reminds me of Dave Van Ronk and Nick Drake. 
Blue Öyster Cult - On Your Feet or On Your Knees: The NY heavy rock band released this live double album in 1975, just when they were reaching their creative peak. This was a time when heavy metal was beginning to break free from hard blues and this album represents that early metal sound that AC/DC were just beginning to do. The energy on this record is fantastic. Some standout tracks for me are "Hot Rails to Hell," "Buck's Boogie," "Last Days of Man," "Cities of Flame," and the incredible "Born to Be Wild" cover to close.
Emma Ruth Rundle - Some Heavy Ocean: Over the past few years, Emma has emerged as one of my favorite performers and I recently went back and found a copy of this 2014 release, her second solo record. Though still beautifully gloomy, she's definitely grown darker in the past few years. This is another wonderful record with lots of dark wave dreampop. "We Are All Ghosts" and "Arms I Know So Well" are pure brilliance. I really hope this is an artist who gets wider attention really soon.
Ghost - Prequelle: The fourth album from the Swedish metal band was released this summer and has become the band's biggest success, rocketing them to stardom here in the states. After being disappointed by their last album, I was bit skeptical about this one, but it's quite good. The incorporate some glam metal elements into their sound and it all comes together to create one of the most listenable metal albums in some time, and therefore no surprise to me that it's been so popular. 

Series of Unfortunate Events (The Miserable Mill)

Last night, I continued my binge watching with the concluding episodes of the first season of the Netflix adaption of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The two-part conclusion covers material from the fourth book, The Miserable Mill. Along with the The Wide Window, this was my favorite adaptation of the first season. It got everything right. Balancing the mood between utterly hopeless despair and joy found in the children's resourcefulness is the biggest challenge of this story, something that isn't always accomplished even in the books. Those two episodes manage that challenge wonderfully.
Having once again escaped Mr. Poe's incompetence and the clutches of Count Olaf by running away to the Lucky Smells lumber mill at the end of the last episode, the Bauldelaire orphans are content to work at the ghastly mill if it means they can live there, safe from Olaf. Of course, the eye shaped building that overlooks the mill should assure them that they are never safe from the dastardly plans of the Count.
The wealth of secrets revealed in this episode make it an extremely satisfying way to end the season. We also see the siblings beginning to move past their tragic circumstances and develop into very capable foes to the menace facing them, which we now know is far greater than simply Count Olaf and his evil theater troupe. 
Don Johnson's guest appearance is spectacular, as is Rhys Darby. The casting for this program has been so amazing, always picking the perfect person to capture the absurdness that comes with the character. It's not a coincidence that Samuel Beckett is mentioned in this episode as the absurd abounds.